Contemporary Still Life: mixed media painting
I enjoyed yet another mixed-media painting course at the lovely Lund Studios a couple of weeks back. I've become an addict that needs a "fix" every so often! This injection of new ways of working and thinking creatively really moves me on in my practice. It’s been an integral part of getting back into painting after an absence of many years when I focused purely on printmaking.
Now I’m developing both strands in my art practice. Whilst the two styles might appear to be quite different, I can see that there’s a lot of cross pollination with my paintings becoming more like prints and my prints becoming more like paintings!
These are some of the artworks I produced on this three-day still life painting course with artist Pete Monaghan entitled Contemporary Still Life (Up close and personal). Pete is a well-known painter with an expressive style that interprets vernacular architecture (think tumble-down cottages) using line, colour and texture.
Pete also works from still life objects, usually in an interior setting, which was the subject of this course (a good theme for cold weather!) I love to learn from artists like Pete who are skilled practitioners and generous in sharing their experience through group demonstrations and one-to-one advice. It's the fast track to improving your work!
During the course we made several versions of our chosen subject matter, exploring ways to interpret it that move away from traditional observational drawing. We began with quick sketches and colour studies then moved into mixed-media: acrylic paint, inks, collage and water-soluble crayons – just the materials I’ve been working with recently. Over the three days, I produced the work shown here. I made a few small tweaks back in my own studio to bring most of them to completion.
I’m quite a slow worker, on the whole, so it was exciting to produce so much work in such a short space of time. I made quick decisions and used the materials in a playful, unconcerned way. I was fortunate in having a big stack of hand-made collage papers from my previous work that came in handy, especially printed tissue paper which has a lovely translucency.
There are three versions of the still life with pumpkin and two of the yellow jug. In each version I wanted to do something different rather than repeat myself. Pete found, in his own practice, that by having a few pieces of the same subject on the go, you could move forward to different ways. It also helps with drying times!
Sometimes the least promising in the early stages can turn out to be the best one. I’ve certainly found that to be true in my own practice. When you’ve mentally written off a piece, you don’t care anymore so take more risks with it that can re-vitalize it and break new ground. Conversely, if you have a piece that you’re really pleased with, you can become tentative in an effort not to spoil it so it doesn’t fulfil its potential. The psychology of art-making is very strange!
Keeping the spirit of playfulness and experimentation alive can be a challenge especially when you make art for a living. You can end up feeling that time is wasted if it doesn’t result in a saleable piece of art when, of course, you need to take time to muck around, come up with new ideas and take the pressure off yourself.
What I like about Pete Monaghan’s work is how he combines acute observation and a draughtsman’s precision with expressive mark-making, abstract positive and negative spaces and considered composition. I also like his limited colour palette of black, white, grey and blue with shots of red and rust. There’s lots to take away there and use in my own work. I hope to develop my theme of flowers and gardens in a way that’s dynamic and contemporary. Watch this space!
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I really like all the Pumpkin pieces, including the colour study. They have a lovely freedom and energy with layers of complexity. Very engaging.